YOU’VE got to be cruel to be kind when it comes to plants, according to BTC Biotechnik International of Wilster in Germany in its patent application WO 95/33375.
The idea is to help crop plants absorb beneficial chemicals as they grow in the fields. Before the plants get their dose of chemicals, their leaves are blasted by a spray gun loaded with an abrasive such as sand. The blasting creates surface lesions, and before these have a chance to heal, the farmer treats the leaves with chemicals, which soak in faster.
